BRK-B vs NSC vs FRFHF Stock Comparison

Berkshire Hathaway, Norfolk Southern and Fairfax Financial Holdings Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BRK-B Berkshire Hathaway Inc
$541.90 +7.9% 1M +13.9% 1Y
Market cap
$781.88M
P/E
0.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$384.69B
Div. yield
–
Property and Casualty Insurance Financial Services
4 wins
NSC Norfolk Southern Corp
$342.19 +9.2% 1M +22.4% 1Y
Market cap
$76.67B
P/E
28.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.96B
Div. yield
0.02%
Railroads Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Norfolk Southern leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Norfolk Southern 4, Berkshire Hathaway 4, Fairfax Financial Holdings 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBRK-BNSCFRFHFLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $781.88M $76.67B $38.30B NSC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 0.0x 28.6x 7.6x BRK-B
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 28.0x 9.8x FRFHF
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.9% +6.0% +10.0% FRFHF
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 22.3% 20.7% 3.7% BRK-B
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -10.4% 9.7% — NSC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 2.7x — BRK-B
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.01% NSC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +13.9% +22.4% +10.6% NSC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.6%/yr +3.2%/yr +34.6%/yr FRFHF
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 14.6% 21.0% 22.4% BRK-B
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 28/100 33/100 42/100 FRFHF

Percentile Scorecard

BRK-BNSCFRFHF

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisBRK-BNSCFRFHF
Valuation 15 #101 of 119 9 #124 of 136 40 #72 of 119
Growth 30 #80 of 114 43 #70 of 121 43 #65 of 114
Profitability 30 #75 of 106 63 #42 of 112 29 #76 of 106
Financial Health 55 #47 of 104 30 #98 of 140 79 #23 of 104
Shareholder Returns 8 #97 of 105 19 #65 of 80 18 #86 of 105
Overall 28 33 42
  • BRK-B ranked among 126 companies in Insurance
  • NSC ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • FRFHF ranked among 126 companies in Insurance

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodBRK-BNSCFRFHFSPY
1 month +7.9%+9.2%+14.2% +0.7%
3 months +6.3%+2.5%+5.6% +3.7%
6 months +14.4%+8.3%+3.4% +7.1%
Year to date +7.8%+18.5%-6.4% +12.8%
1 year +13.9%+22.4%+10.6% +11.9%
3 years +60.6%+82.4%+115.4% +85.2%
3 years, per year +17.1%+22.2%+29.2% +22.8%
5 years +88.8%+16.8%+340.6% +67.6%
5 years, per year +13.6%+3.2%+34.6% +10.9%
10 years +276.3%+270.9%+243.3% +262.0%
10 years, per year +14.2%+14.0%+13.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureBRK-BNSCFRFHFSPY
Volatility, 1Y 14.6%21.0%22.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 14.2%20.3%23.4% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.020.190.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.951.070.47 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -26.6%-38.0%-20.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.2%-3.1%-6.8% -1.2%
52-week high $548.72$352.99$1,916.53 $779.14
52-week low $465.40$278.19$1,529.40 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleBRK-BNSCFRFHF
P/E now vs peer median 0.0xmedian 10.7x 28.6xmedian 16.5x 7.6xmedian 10.7x
P/S now vs peer median 3.0xmedian 1.4x 5.9xmedian 0.9x 0.4xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -9.6xmedian 7.5x 16.7xmedian 8.8x 6.0xmedian 7.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 48.2xmedian 8.5x 46.7xmedian 11.9x -2,084xmedian 8.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 1.5x 4.6xmedian 1.2x 1.7xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.60 3.19median 0.84 5.72median 0.60

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsBRK-BNSCFRFHF
Revenue $384.69B $12.96B $134.78B
Gross profit $215.64B – –
Operating income -$111.18B $4.09B –
Net income $86.08B $2.68B $5.03B
Free cash flow $24.22B $1.65B -$26.00M
EPS (diluted) – $11.92 $217.11
Cash & equivalents $40.61B $1.60B –
Total debt $128.60B $16.61B –
Shares (diluted) – 225.20M 23.08M
Enterprise value -$1.42T $71.14B $38.30B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricBRK-BNSCFRFHF
P/E 0.0x 28.6x 7.6x
P/FCF 48.2x 46.7x -2,084x
P/Operating cash flow 25.0x 20.3x -1,662x
P/S 3.0x 5.9x 0.4x
P/B 1.6x 4.6x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 1.6x 4.6x 1.7x
EV/EBITDA -9.6x 16.7x 6.0x
EV/EBIT -8.4x 22.5x 6.3x
EV/Revenue 2.4x 7.1x 0.4x
EV/FCF 38.5x 55.8x -2,084x
EV/Operating cash flow 20.0x 24.3x -1,662x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 3.19 5.72

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBRK-BNSCFRFHF
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.9% 6.0% 10.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 1.7% 75.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.1% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 1.0% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -4.9% -10.2% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -8.5% 8.2% –
Net income growth (1Y) 35.9% -9.4% 0.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -0.5% 8.7% -1.7%
EPS growth (1Y) – -9.6% 5.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 9.0% 1.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 70.1% -11.0% -100.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.6% 4.6% 73.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 194.4% -21.5% -100.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -2.5% 13.0% 75.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBRK-BNSCFRFHF
Gross margin 56.1% – –
EBITDA margin -25.3% 42.5% 6.7%
Operating margin -28.9% 31.5% –
Pretax margin 29.2% 26.4% 4.7%
Net margin 22.3% 20.7% 3.7%
FCF margin 6.3% 12.7% 0.0%
Operating cash flow margin 12.1% 29.2% 0.0%
Return on equity 11.6% 16.3% 24.7%
Return on assets 6.8% 5.9% 7.0%
Return on invested capital -10.4% 9.7% –
Return on capital employed – 9.8% –
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.3x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.5x 1.4x 0.0x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBRK-BNSCFRFHF
Debt / assets 10.2% 36.2% –
Debt / equity 0.2x 1.0x –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 2.7x –
Debt / FCF 5.3x 10.1x –
Liabilities / assets 40.6% 63.6% 71.6%
Equity / assets 59.4% 36.4% 28.4%
Interest coverage -21.4x 5.2x 10.0x
Current ratio – 0.9x –
Quick ratio – 0.8x –
Cash ratio – 0.4x –
Altman Z-score – 2.58 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBRK-BNSCFRFHF
Dividend yield – 1.6% 0.8%
Net buyback yield 0.4% 0.0% 0.0%
Shareholder yield 0.4% 1.6% 0.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 45.2% 10.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 73.6% -2,077%
Dividend growth (1Y) – -0.4% -18.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 0.2% 1.9%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusBRK-BNSCFRFHF
Forward P/E – 28.0xFY2026 9.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $12.23FY2026 $182.77FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -2.1%FY2026 -14.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +24.4% +10.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $14.12BFY2026 $33.74BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +15.9%FY2026 +0.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +2.7% -5.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBRK-BNSCFRFHF
Held by institutions 65.8% 75.9% –
Institutions holding 4,925 1,865 –
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.8% +1.5% –
Institutions buying 2,237 752 –
Institutions selling 1,989 632 –
Buyers to sellers 1.12 1.19 –

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

BRK-BNSCFRFHF
BRK-B 1.00 0.22 0.14
NSC 0.22 1.00 0.14
FRFHF 0.14 0.14 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BRK-B, NSC and FRFHF?

Norfolk Southern (NSC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) $781.88M, Norfolk Southern (NSC) $76.67B, Fairfax Financial Holdings (FRFHF) $38.30B.

Which stock is cheaper, BRK-B, NSC and FRFHF?

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) 0.0x, Norfolk Southern (NSC) 28.6x, Fairfax Financial Holdings (FRFHF) 7.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Fairfax Financial Holdings (FRFHF) is cheapest (Norfolk Southern (NSC) 28.0x, Fairfax Financial Holdings (FRFHF) 9.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Fairfax Financial Holdings (FRFHF) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) +3.9%, Norfolk Southern (NSC) +6.0%, Fairfax Financial Holdings (FRFHF) +10.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) has the highest net margin (Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) 22.3%, Norfolk Southern (NSC) 20.7%, Fairfax Financial Holdings (FRFHF) 3.7%). On return on invested capital, Norfolk Southern (NSC) leads (Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) -10.4%, Norfolk Southern (NSC) 9.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Norfolk Southern (NSC) returned the most: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) +13.9%, Norfolk Southern (NSC) +22.4%, Fairfax Financial Holdings (FRFHF) +10.6%. Over five years, Fairfax Financial Holdings (FRFHF) compounded fastest (Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) +13.6%/yr, Norfolk Southern (NSC) +3.2%/yr, Fairfax Financial Holdings (FRFHF) +34.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Norfolk Southern (NSC) has the highest dividend yield: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) 0.00%, Norfolk Southern (NSC) 0.02%, Fairfax Financial Holdings (FRFHF) 0.01%. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) has been the steadiest (Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) 14.6%, Norfolk Southern (NSC) 21.0%, Fairfax Financial Holdings (FRFHF) 22.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BRK-B, NSC and FRFHF?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Norfolk Southern (NSC) leads on 4. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.